


Greater Than the Sum

by kitausuret



Series: Kinktober 2018 [10]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Venom (Comics)
Genre: Alien Planet, Empathic Bond, Established Relationship, Everybody Loving on Eddie, Fluff and Angst, Hurts So Good, Kinktober with no Kink, Married Life, Multi, Psychic Bond, Romantic Gestures, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Space Knight crew Cameos, Telepathic Bond, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, mental health, space adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 08:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16281401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitausuret/pseuds/kitausuret
Summary: Eddie tries to hide it, but Venom knows he is hurting.Venom knows his partners like he knows his own soul, and they all know that medically, chemically, they cannot be in a permanent physical bond. It would do more harm than good. But there are bonds greater than those that are physical.Flash and Venom know the perfect place to show Eddie how much he means to them.(Kinktober Day 10: Bonds (Telepathic/Empathic))





	Greater Than the Sum

**Author's Note:**

> Kinktober? More like FEELStober.

“Where are we going?”

Venom glanced over at Eddie’s murmured question to Flash, not so much using sight as his general awareness of where his partners were at all times. He caught Flash’s gaze and the slightly coy smile, followed by a response: “Somewhere beyond the Expanse.”

Eddie wrapped his arms around Flash from behind, speaking softly, and Venom turned his attention back to Mahia explaining a new up-and-coming power a quadrant away. She had originally objected to this slight detour from their next destination, but Flash had explained to her that this was important to him, and it would only put them a day behind. She’d finally relented after _something_ Iqa had whispered in her ear that made her face darken to a deep cerulean.

A day would not make so much of a difference.

\-----

They landed on the planet’s surface some time later, Venom wrapped around his bondmate and their partner clinging to them. Venom admitted he took some pleasure in the way Eddie looked at them the first time they revealed their cosmic form to him, such awe and pride radiating through the bond the three of them shared. They’d kissed him then, deep and slow, trying to make him understand that this; this was not for one or two but dependent upon _all_ of them. Whatever happened, they would always be Eddie’s, and Eddie would always be theirs.

But they also wanted him to understand why their mission as Agents of the Cosmos was so important.

And so they bounded off away from the ship, Venom using tentacles to launch them in great arcs through the air, nearly fifty yards in each leap, Eddie clutching tightly and Flash’s delighted laughter cutting through the nervousness. “We’ve got you,” they both reassured Eddie, wrapping a few more tentacles around his waist to hold him more securely.

 _The first star is setting over the horizon,_ Venom told Flash.

_“I know, I know. We’re almost there.”_

“You _know_ I can hear you two,” Eddie said against Venom’s chest.

“Of course, my heart,” Venom responded fondly, voice coloring a little more strongly over Flash’s, “but Flash would like to think that we are yet capable of surprising you.”

Only minutes later they came upon a craggy red cliff, overlooking a sea of mercury that glistened strangely in the light of the planet’s binary star sunset. Above them, the darkening sky revealed the universe around them. It was somehow more breathtaking than the streaking light trails they swept past at faster-than-light speeds. None of this was new to Venom, having been born within the abyss himself, but he enjoyed the way his partners gazed at things new and wonderful. Art, aesthetics, _inspiration_ ; these were not concepts unique to humans, no, but Eddie in particular, with all his love of language and knowledge, reacted with even more emotion than Flash did.

How Venom loved being able to share this with the both of them.

They set Eddie down softly, then sat, Venom unwrapping from Flash to lose shape and twine around the both of them. Flash settled against Eddie, meeting his gaze with green eyes tinted more gold in the light of the sunset. The alien dusk cast deep shadows over the three, and for a time, they simply watched the first star disappear below the horizon.

Venom finally broke the silence, speaking not even so much aloud as he did through their bond, his mass forming a kind of hand to hold Eddie’s and connect them as well. “Flash and I discovered this place during our time with the Guardians. It is a colony and one that had been targeted by adversaries.”

“Actually it was just someone who had pissed off Quill, but they were pretty terrible,” Flash stage-whispered to Eddie, who snickered in response.

“You’re ruining the moment, Eugene.”

Flash just grinned and kissed him before winking at Venom.

“Our _purpose_ in bringing you here,” the symbiote went on, “is because we want you to feel what we feel. Not only emotions and words, but the vastness. The cosmos. The reason we go out into the stars and try to help others. The reason we are called, and driven.” He moved then to face Eddie, Eddie who looked so gorgeous in this light, he never wanted to leave this moment. “Will you let us show you?”

Venom’s long-time partner turned nervously to Flash, and then to the symbiote. “I-” He turned away, and the sadness that radiated from him just about broke them. “I don’t know if I can.” Eddie started shutting down, his anxiety threatening to block them both off. “I don’t know if I _should_.”

Venom and Flash exchanged nervous glances. Flash managed to move around to sit in front of Eddie, taking his hands even as Venom remained woven around and through them. “Eddie, hey, we’ve been over this,” he said softly, and leaned forward to rest his forehead against Eddie’s. “What we are, what we can be, no matter what happened in the past… I know you’re the one who taught Venom what it really means to live. What it means to _belong_. He would’ve never been able to understand…” Flash indicated the stars above. “...all of this.”

“That’s not the point.” He heaved a sigh that shook with emotion. “I’m… broken. I’ve always _been_ broken.” Salt tinged the air, and Venom sank fully into Eddie, a thread still connecting him to Flash, and the walls crashed down and Eddie _sobbed_.

Flash pulled Eddie closer, and Venom knew there were tears on his face, as well, and kissed his face, kissed his hair, held him close as he sobbed, feeling everything, sharing the burden, as partners and bondmates and with a love that defied every language the entirety of the Klyntar may ever know.

“Then we’re _all_ broken, babe. You’re talking to the guy with no legs…”

 _...and the one who was outcast from even the_ outcasts _of their own species,_ Venom added solemnly.

“We all need help, Eddie. You took that step - _you_ \- for yourself, and yes, for Venom. Sometimes, our brains just… suck. And they need a little help. But this thing we’ve got? The three of us? It’s… it’s not in our brains or our bodies or neurochemistry or any of that. It’s in our souls. It’s in the very essence of _who we are_.”

 _We want you to be a part of who we are,_ Venom said, _because while we are not three parts of one whole… we are greater than the sum of our parts. But you, Eddie; you have come so far. We all have._ He snuck tendrils out to wrap around Eddie in a hug. _Please, we want you to know what this is._

“But I can’t-” Eddie choked on his words and Flash just rubbed his back comfortingly. “I can’t even…” His voice dissolved, giving way to only thought. _“I can’t even be good for you. I’m so broken I can’t heal myself without being toxic to you. I spent years hating you and then I finally had you back and-- I don’t know who I am without you.”_

 _And who would I be, without you, Eddie? Who would Flash be if he had never seen you at that church during a crisis? If we had never saved hundreds from the Slayers that day in Philadelphia when you each realized you were both good people? The universe thrives on connections. I will_ always _be connected to you. Now see what else connects us._

And then, slowly, gently, he focused his bond with Flash, looping Eddie in, and wrapped tight around them. Venom reached out towards the cosmos; towards the light and the beauty of life and everything that was good in existence. And so they _felt_ the universe; felt its joy and its pain; sadness and ecstacy. It was more than stars and galaxies and carbon chains of life. It was bonds, strong and weak, stretched but never really broken.

It was feeling the universe’s pain, and being able to _do_ something about it.

Existence was so _massive_ and they, even all of Klyntar, were so small. But Flash was his light, and Eddie his heart, and Venom would fight the universe for them. Without hesitation.

He drew them back then, Flash as his stability point, decreasing the scope until they were again back on the cliff. Venom snapped them back gently into place, and Eddie fell onto his husband with a gasp. He clutched at Flash; called for his other; drew them both close with tears in his eyes. But something was different.

He was _smiling_.

Relief washed over Flash at the rolling waves of love, love, nothing but _love_ , and Eddie kissed Venom. At the same time, Flash pressed his lips to Eddie’s cheek, grinning into it, and so they stayed like that a while, trading sloppy kisses and reveling in what they were and what they had. There was no fate; no destiny. And yet…

Venom felt Eddie move, and cushioned him as he fell onto his back, pulling Flash on top. Flash laughed and rested his forearms on Eddie’s chest to look at him.

“Wild, huh?”

“It’s…” Eddie reached out, a silent call, and Venom nuzzled against his hand. “Indescribable.”

“Yeah. Kinda like you.”

They held each other’s gaze a moment before Eddie hauled them both close and poured out every ounce of affection he could muster into their bond. To Venom it was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted.  
  
“Like _us_ , you mean. Kind of like _us._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> (on a slightly more serious note, I wrote this one partially in light of the fact that this is Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 7-13). please, always remember that you need to take whatever action is right for you and your own health. sometimes, your brain needs a little outside help. psychiatric therapy is immensely helpful to millions of people and, along with support and talk therapy, can greatly improve one's situation. it's not always easy, and it's not always perfect, but with friends and loved ones by your side, you can get through anything. 
> 
> you are not broken and you are not a failure if you need to be on medication. if you are struggling, help is out there and there is _always_ a light at the end of the tunnel. don't give up. there are people who love you and believe in you. you are more than what you perceive yourself to be. you are part of a beautiful universe and you deserve to live life to its fullest.)


End file.
